Devs Talk PSP Minis Vs. App Store

October 11, 2009Written by Joseph Peterson

With the launch of the PSPgo came the launch of PSP Minis as well. For those don’t know, Minis are considered “bite sized” games that are for quick on the go gaming. It just so happens with the recent launch of these titles some of the games are also available on the App Store.

Several developers have been a success on the App Store know the good and bad of both the PSN and App Store. Kimmo Vihola, the CEO of the developer Mountain Sheep (the developer behind Minigore), was more than willing to give his views on the different experiences of publishing titles on the PSN and the App Store. He had this to say about the different submission processes of the two services.

“The QA process is much more predictable with Sony and their turnaround times are awesome. The App Store, on the other hand, sees many more new applications a day going through their pipeline,” Vihola added. “So many, in fact, that their process is starting to crack from the seams. With approval times varying from a couple of days to up to six weeks, not getting your submission through can cost you a lot of time. Apple should consider changing their process such that re-submissions take a priority over new submissions. We are already a licensed developer for the PSP so we didn’t have to jump through any hoops to get into the Minis. I’d imagine the sign-up is fairly similar for both Apple and Sony — with the notable exception you need to be a business entity to develop for the Minis.”

Vihola also has high hopes for the future of the PSN Mini Store. He understands that it is still in the beginning stages, and that many improvements will come down the line.

“Requiring the system to be updated to latest version to access the store can also be a little distracting at times. When you want to access the store, you don’t want to be waiting until the battery charges and an update is installed.”

Some other things that Vihola said that he would like to see implemented down the line include screenshots, video previews, and even background downloading. Regardless, the Minis are a big hit amongst PSP owners, and the future for these new titles is a bright one. The ideas that Vihola has are definitely good ones, and Sony hopefully would be able to implement these somehow via store update or firmware update (background downloading).